[Environment surrounding women that is different from Japan]
JOICFP has been engaged in activities to protect the lives of pregnant women for many years. For example, in Japan, it is rare for people to think that they might die from pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, or an infectious disease during that process, but in developing countries, death is literally the same thing. In Japan, you receive medical examinations at hospitals and clinics with a well-organized sanitary environment, right? In developing countries, it takes several hours to walk to a hospital, and there is no clean water, disinfectant, or medicine inside the hospital, and there are no medical personnel to begin with. As a result, many women do not have the desire to go to a hospital with inadequate health services and do not receive a medical checkup even before giving birth. And when it comes to giving birth, most of them are at home. She was laid out on a dirt floor and gave birth without the presence of a doctor or midwife. The umbilical cord is cut off using unsterilized scissors available at the scene. In Japan, a high-risk birth that would have required a caesarean section is impossible because the risks cannot be detected in advance, and there are no doctors who can perform the surgery, and even if there were, there were no anesthetics. Please try to imagine.
Women's lives and health are being threatened in an environment that is hard for us in Japan to imagine. In addition, there are many girls who get married and give birth repeatedly in their early teens, when their bodies are not yet ready for pregnancy and childbirth. JOICFP not only provides support with facilities and supplies, but also provides safe health services that will enable local people to protect the lives and health of local women on their own, even after our support is no longer available. We are also putting effort into developing human resources and creating an environment that will enable us to do this.
[What kind of world does Mr. Ono aim for? ]
``At times like these, I believe that someone's feelings for someone can support those in a difficult situation, and that feeling can also be a source of strength for oneself.'' JOICFP is carrying out support activities around the world and in Japan, but in the future, I would like to aim for a world where JOICFP is no longer needed.